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“Schools that use the SAT are throwing away a third of their talent.”

—WILLIAM HISS, Dean of Enrollment at Bates College

“While this test has some ability to predict student performance in the first year of college, it falls far short of predicting overall academic or career success and a host of other aptitudes that educators and society value, such as intellectual curiosity, motivation, persistence, leadership, creativity, civic engagement and social conscience.”

—JOANNE CREIGHTON, President of Mount Holyoke College

“The negative impact of the SATs falls disproportionately on African Americans and Latinos. If you are about things like diversity in your student body, the SAT can be an impediment.”

—CHRISTOPHER HOOKER-HARING, Dean of Admission at Muhlenberg College

Reprinted with permission of FairTest (www.fairtest.org)

ACT (www.actstudent.org)

 This exam has four multiple-choice tests and an optional Writing test. There is a score for each of the four tests (English, Math, Reading and Science) from 1 (low) to 36 (high), and the composite score is the average of the four test scores between 1 and 36.

 The English section has 75 questions in 45 minutes that test standard written English (punctuation, grammar and usage, sentence structure) and rhetorical skills (strategy, organization, style).

 The Mathematics section has 60 questions in 60 minutes that test pre-algebra (23 percent), elementary algebra (17 percent), intermediate algebra (15 percent), coordinate geometry (15 percent), plane geometry (23 percent) and trigonometry (7 percent).

 The Reading section has 40 questions in 35 minutes that test reading comprehension.

 The Science section has 40 questions in 35 minutes that test the “interpretation, analysis, evaluation, reasoning and problem-solving skills” of natural sciences.

 The optional Writing section has one essay prompt in 30 minutes that tests writing skills.